Numbered Days

The stats behind New Mexico's domestic violence epidemic

In December, the New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs, Inc., released a comprehensive report that summarizes sexual assault statistics in New Mexico for 2011. The stats were obtained from 100 law enforcement agencies (which together cover 91 percent of the state population), sexual assault nurse examiners (SANEs), service providers and the Administrative Office of the Courts, which maintains data from district courts around the state. Taken as a whole, the data show that sexual assault remains a complex and underreported problem in New Mexico. For instance, of the estimated rapes that occurred in 2011, a mere 7.8 percent “came to the attention of law enforcement,” the report states.

Likelihood that a woman living in New Mexico will experience rape or attempted rape:
1 in 4

Likelihood that a man will:
1 in 20

Percentage of male and female sexual assault victims, respectively, who were children at the time of the assault:
53%, 24%

Average time male and female sexual assault victims, respectively, wait before seeking therapeutic services:
16 years, 8.8 years

Total number of sex crimes reported by New Mexico law enforcement in 2011:
3,651

Percentage of sexual assault cases reported to service providers in which the offender was the same race as the victim:
86%

Percentage of rape cases, in New Mexico in 2011, in which the victim reportedly knew the offender:
83%

In cases where the victim knew the offender, likelihood that the offender was a family member:
1 in 5

Number of rape cases in which drug or alcohol use was documented:
241

Share of those cases in which the offender was the only party using drugs or alcohol:
63%

Number of men, women and children, respectively, who visited Santa Fe's Esperanza Shelter last year:
2, 175, 174

Letters to the Editor

Mail letters to PO Box 4910 Santa Fe, NM 87502 or email them to editor[at]sfreporter.com. Letters (no more than 200 words) should refer to specific articles in the Reporter. Letters will be edited for space and clarity.

We also welcome you to follow SFR on social media (on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) and comment there. You can also email specific staff members from our contact page.